1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a thermoelectric generator for a vehicle, and more particularly, to a thermoelectric generator for a vehicle, which improves electric power generation efficiency by maximizing a temperature difference between both sides of a thermoelectric module and has a configuration that makes assembly and replacement of components easier.
2. Description of Related Art
Thermoelectric generation is a technology that generates electricity using an electric potential difference between a heating element and a cooling element, and has an advantage of being capable of producing electric energy directly from a heat source without mechanical operations.
The thermoelectric generation method has already been used for a long time in fields other than automobiles, such as power supply facilities for remote areas, planet probes (Voyager II) or the like, and recently is considered to be applied to a waste heat utilization system for a waste incinerator, geothermal power generation, ocean temperature difference power generation or the like.
Meanwhile, when considering the flow of energy in automobiles, chemical energy of gasoline is converted to mechanical energy by combustion in an engine, but the thermal efficiency is just 30%, and the remaining energy is dissipated as thermal energy, vibration energy, sound energy or the like.
Therefore, recycling of the dissipated energy is required for improving fuel economy. Further, because the heat energy dissipated from heat source having a higher temperature is more useful among the dissipated energy, a method of using exhaust heat of the engine, which is in the range of a high temperature of hundreds degrees, as a high temperature heat source is being developed.
Meanwhile, because efficiency of an alternator, which is used for supplying electricity to vehicles, is just 33%, and shaft power needs to be increased as power consumption in a vehicle increases, there is a problem in that a loss of the shaft power is increased, and high fuel consumption and emission of pollutants are increased.
Here, the amount of energy consumed for driving the alternator changes in accordance with driving states of vehicles and power consumption state, but the energy is also consumed during general driving at daytime when power consumption is low.
Therefore, an additional electric power generation such as thermoelectric generation shares the function of the alternator, and thus the fuel economy may be expected to be improved.
The thermoelectric generation applied to vehicles has been open to public as a technology that produces electricity using exhaust heat of exhaust gas and coolant. More particularly, a thermoelectric module including p-type and n-type conductors or semiconductors and mounted at an exhaust pipe is configured to have one side that is in contact with the exhaust gas and the other side that is in contact with the coolant.
Here, a temperature difference between a heat source (the exhaust gas) and a cooling source (the coolant), which is transferred to the thermoelectric module, needs to increase in order to increase electric power generation efficiency of the thermoelectric module.
The information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.